Stanislaus County was instrumental in the arrival of immigrants to California. They passed through
the region with some setting up camp and staying. Others moved on to coastal
regions. One of the most historical places is the Temporary Detention Camps
for Japanese Americans in Turlock. See the list of historical landmarks and attractions of Stanislaus County. The largest city and best base camp for exploring this California central valley county is Modesto, CA.
NO. 347 KNIGHTS FERRY - Once called Dentville, this picturesque mining
center and trading post was founded in 1849. An early ferry carried
Argonauts on their way to the southern mines. The rare wooden covered
bridge, reportedly designed by U. S. Grant, brother-in-law of the Dent
brothers, and the old flour mill were built there in 1854. The town served
as the county seat from 1862 to 1872.
Location: On Sonora Rd, 1.4 mi W of State Hwy 120 (P.M. 16.4), Knights Ferry
NO. 414 LA GRANGE - French settlers originally established the community of
French Bar along the Tuolumne River in 1850. After the destructive floods of
1851-52, citizens of French Bar relocated one mile upstream above the
floodplain. Renamed La Grange, the new town prospered as a mining and
agricultural community, and served as the county seat of Stanislaus County
from 1856 to 1862.
Location: 30173 Yosemite Blvd., La Grange
NO. 415 THE WILLMS RANCH - Arriving in California October 12, 1849, John R.
Willms and John H. Kappelmann engaged in the hotel and butcher businesses in
Buena Vista, in what is now Stanislaus County. They bought up mining claims
and settler's claims until, by 1852, they had a tract of 3,600 acres. The
'KW' brand was the first in Tuolumne County in 1852. After the death of
Kappelmann, Willms carried on alone, and the ranch has been owned by the
Willms family ever since.
Location: On Willms Rd, 1.3 mi S of State Hwy 120 (P.M. 170), 1.9 mi S of
Knights Ferry
NO. 418 EMPIRE CITY - This memorial is dedicated to the memory of the
pioneer men and women of Empire City and vicinity. Located one-half mile
west of here on the banks of the Tuolumne River, Empire City was the head of
navigation and the site of the second courthouse of Stanislaus County.
Records remained here from October 1854 to December 1855.
Location: 0.1 mi S on County Hwy J-7 Empire
NO. 934 TEMPORARY DETENTION CAMPS FOR JAPANESE AMERICANS-TURLOCK ASSEMBLY
CENTER - The temporary detention camps (also known as 'assembly centers')
represent the first phase of the mass incarceration of 97,785 Californians
of Japanese ancestry during World War II. Pursuant to Executive Order 9066
signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, thirteen
makeshift detention facilities were constructed at various California
racetracks, fairgrounds, and labor camps. These facilities were intended to
confine Japanese Americans until more permanent concentration camps, such as
those at Manzanar and Tule Lake in California, could be built in isolated
areas of the country. Beginning on March 30, 1942, all native-born Americans
and long-time legal residents of Japanese ancestry living in California were
ordered to surrender themselves for detention.
Location: Site: Stanislaus County Fairgrounds, Turlock
